A Selection of Writings

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Research Questions 1. Are women less likely than men to run for public office? 2. What are the main differences between the portrayal of male and female politicians within mass media? 3. How has the portrayal in the media of Australia’s first female Prime Mister, Julia Gillard, affected women’s political ambitions? Literature Review Introduction Women, although making up…

Introduction When half of the world has struggled to achieve basic human rights, feminism is a fundamental means towards achieving equality and justice. This report begins with background information and historical contexts of feminism and its human rights objectives. The key concepts, main debates and analysis are presented within the framework of the three waves…

Most Australians would be familiar with the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, in which it states: “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…”. Most Australians would also assume that having freedom of speech is a key foundation and an inherent benefit of modern democracy. With that…

The under-representation of women in federal parliament is undoubtedly concerning. It should be instinctive to be concerned when half of Australia’s population only hold 30% of the representative positions in Australia’s parliaments (McCann & Wilson, 2012). The struggle for gender equality is at the heart of this discussion, because in a world with unequal representation of…

What is the Australian Press Council? The Australian Press Council is a non-profit organisation whose primary duty is to deal with complaints about published material from ordinary citizens and then to encourage publications to write apologies for the offensive or defamatory material in response to the complaint. The Council receives approximately 700 complaints per year,…

Fascism is a powerful and dangerous ideology. It is a form of radical authoritarian nationalism, which demands complete state control and limits to social individualism. Many people have identified fascism to be on the far right of the political spectrum, but others have suggested this assertion is inadequate and that fascism has aspects of both left…

Feminism and multiculturalism are notable ideological allies in liberal academic politics, although on a global scale, they contribute many conflicting political visions. Despite the fact that these two concepts are unlikely to be seen as controversial in liberal nation states, it is fundamental that we understand the possible detrimental effects on society, culture, gender equality,…

Remember these? There is no denying that News Corp Australia’s newspapers are incredibly biased. Thanks to Rupert Murdoch, the 2013 election campaign was littered with right-wing propaganda. Murdoch controls 70% of the capital city newspaper circulation and his influence is obvious throughout Australia’s newspapers, televisions news stations, radio stations, and the Internet. Rupert Murdoch’s political…

Australia currently has two bodies which overlook media standards: The Australian Press Council and The Australian Communications and Media Authority – both of which are commonly criticised for their poor functionality. Neither of these bodies have the ability to place legally enforceable sanctions on media outlets. Australia does not have a national body with legislative…

Human migration in it’s commonly known form occurs when people travel, usually across land in large groups, and often very far, to help sustain their people when issues like changing climates, inadequate food supply, or landscape do not work to their advantage (Bailey, 2009). Migration in this form is inherently linked to the nomadic people (nomad…

The ethically challenging debate of whether to decriminalise voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide has been at the forefront of Australian political discussion for decades. We will take an evaluative approach to examining the current euthanasia and assisted suicide policy in Australia, its effectiveness, and whether it should be overturned. I will consider key theories and perspectives on…

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” On December 15th 1791, the First Amendment of the Bill…